During a presentation to the Regional Transportation Advisory Council, representatives of the Adams Green project to revitalize and redesign the area around the Quincy Center MBTA station estimated that building and construction could begin in 2013.

According to the project's schematic design report from 2010, "in February 2010, the City of Quincy began a five-month design process to build community consensus for a new signature park celebrating the history of Quincy. The project is focused in the heart of the City's downtown area, adjacent to City Hall, the "Church of the Presidents," Quincy Center Red line and Commuter Rail station, historic Hancock Cemetery and the Adams National Historical Park visitors Center."

The purpose and design of the new park were described as follows:

"The design for this central civic open space features a unifying town green and promenade and will provide facilities for public gatherings, outdoor concerts and events, areas of passive beauty suitable for sitting, strolling and meeting people and with coordinated improvements on the streetscape of surrounding roads. Site features will include interpretive elements and site furnishings that convey the historic significance of the City of Quincy and its people.

The park will orient visitors and newcomers to the downtown, especially those who arrive on the subway with reinforced sightlines to the United First Parish Church (Unitarian Universalist), which houses the crypts of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and their illustrious wives.

Among the improvements for Quincy Center and the Adams Green streetscape and park were plans for build a new high school and Mayor Hannon Parkway, both of which have been completed, as well as on-going renovations to Quincy Town Hall, Street Works redevelopment, and an MBTA Transit-Oriented Developments (TOD) study.

The City knew that the new park, to be successful, would have to appeal to many people, in different ways. As a park to be visited and revisited, it should contain secrets and surprises that are not revealed all at once, filling visitors with a sense of delight, awe, wonder, fun and belonging. It should be richly textured, with intriguing details and layers of meaning, held together by a sense of beauty and elegant design.

In addition, this project needed to be designed to create numerous pedestrian safety improvements in the civic core of Quincy: transforming busy Hancock Street into a pedestrian promenade; clarifying vehicular routes to and through the downtown by eliminating the "rotary" that currently rings the United First Parish Church; improving the pedestrian links between the MBTA station, the high school and other points downtown; reducing the expanse of pavement at major intersections; and clearly identifying pedestrian crossings at all intersections and mid-block crossings." (Adams Green July 2010 Schematic Design Report)

Pushing the motto "With the community, not just for it," the City of Quincy and Project Team have said that they are committed to meaningful public involvement. Ways the public can get involved include public information meetings, the project's website (adamsgreen.info), and social media, as well as by telephone and email.

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 23rd, 2012 at 2:12 pm. It is filed under Features, Metro South and tagged with Adams Green, Quincy Center. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.